ChangesOn Hiatus, I'm moving
by ViVi222
Summary: Multi-chap story about the Wammy boys growing up, Near, Matt, and Mello Will be Matt and Mello lemony goodness later! First story ever, so not very good at this summary thing :/ I promiss the writing gets better as the chapters progress
1. Welcome Home

**A/N: This is my first fic ever and probably would not of been written if it wasn't for Ambyrawrawr and Holli-chan. So thanks for pushing me to do this and helping me! _ Hopefully there will be many more chapters to come, so I REALLY hope you like! Please R&R**

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I have lived at Wammy house for as long as I can remember. Some of the other children go on and on about their parents, homes, siblings...not me. Of course I don't really talk much at all.

I have my own room. I like it that way. Dealing with the other boys is irritating.

Of course, I could get a room mate at any time. It's actually quite likely.

I glance at the clock on the little night stand next to the bottom bunk, 17:07, I'm late for dinner. I'm not particularly hungry, and going downstairs for dinner requires effort, and effort is troublesome. I smirk slightly and return to the puzzle at my feet.

Three minutes later there is a knock on the door. I knew there would be. "Near, your late for dinner...again." The exasperated voice of Roger calls from the other side. I just stare at the door, willing the old man to go away. I know he wont. "Near, are you listening?" The disembodied voice calls again. "Yes." I answer simply. Silence. Finally the voice speaks again, "Well, are you coming? You cant just go and steal snacks from the kitchen at night, you need to eat."

I sigh, he isnt going away. I snap the last peice of the puzzle into place and stand stiffly.

"Near..oh!" Roger says, looking down as the toe-head child opens the door. "I'm going." Near says looking up at Roger with an irritated look in his eyes. The five year old pushes past Roger, walking slowly down the hall towards the stairs.

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I represses a shudder, that child is so bizzarre. I always liked children, until I took this job. These children weren't..._normal. _None of them. Why Quillish decided to open a home for children like _this_ I would never understand. All I thought when I looked at these children was _disturbed_. They were smart, and they knew it. They used that intelligence to manipulate people, get what they wanted. If they couldn't get what they wanted, many turned to violence. Near never did. I had gotten use to breaking up fights between the various kids, sometimes the injuries were quite horrible. Near just ignored everyone. Everything. It was like that child lived in his own world.

Children had no innate sense of what was wrong and what was right, no morals. It had to be taught, and honestly there just weren't enough adults around to teach children such as this how they were supposed to act. Not to mention the only adult here who could match their level of intelligence was Quillish himself, and the majority of the time he was off with L.

I run my hand over my face and sigh. Time to get back to the little demons. I can't wait till bed time.

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I walked into the cafeteria, eyes to the floor. I never liked being around people, or noise. The cafeteria was full of both. I glance up at the line for food, luckily most of the other kids had already gotten their food and were seated.

I grab my tray and walk up the line. Nothing looks appealing. I grab an apple juice and a little carton of milk. The meat of the day is chicken...I think. I skip over it and take the side, instant mashed potatoes with gravy. Add a salad with lots of croutons and Catalina dressing, and a piece of carrot cake and my meal is complete.

I finally look up at the room. Every table has someone at it. Wonderfull. A girl with mousy brown hair is waving at me, Linda. Even better. She always insists on talking to me. I sigh and head over to her table.

"Hi Near! What took you so long?" The girl said, a little to enthusiastically for my taste. "I was finishing a puzzle." I answer. She really doesn't need to know that I was trying to avoid being around people, including her. Its not that I don't like people, I just don't like _so many_people. They all try to talk to me. They talk about things that I really cant relate to, which leads to awkward silences.

"A puzzle was more important then food? You're so strange." A heavy set brunette boy said harshly. I look up at the boy from under my hair, he shrinks back slightly. "I didn't say that Jon. Linda asked what took me so long, and I answered." I respond. This is why I avoid people. Linda glares at Jon, "What?" he asks quietly. She just shakes her head. I ignore them and start eating my dinner. The sooner I'm done, the better.

* * *

An older blonde woman led me through the halls of my new home. She had informed me her name was Ms. Johnson and that she was the physics teacher on the way here. I still didnt know exactly where _here_ was. All I knew was my aunt had handed me a plane ticket and a number to call when I landed.

My parents had died in a boating accident two months ago, and since then I had been shuffled back and forth between distant relatives that I had never met. They were all pleasant enough to me, but I could tell I was a burden on all of them. In those two months I had moved five times.

The last place I lived was crowded. My "aunt" was actually my mothers second cousin twice removed. She had been kind, but stressed. I slept in a small room with four other boys, not exactly fun when I use to have my own room at home. I really despised those kids, the oldest one kept taking my gameboy, the second to youngest one making fun of my goggles. Yeah I know goggles are weird, but my eyes are super sensitive to light, and I had to wear some type of tinted lenses to keep me from getting migraines. If I'm going to look like a weirdo anyways, I might as well have fun with it.

About a week after I got there my aunt pulled me to the side, telling me she had gotten a call from a friend who was interested in having me live at his home for gifted children. She went on and on and on about the school systems in the area, about how I was to smart for them, about how I needed better mental stimulation. At this point I didn't even care. I was just tired of being moved around.

Later that day she drove me to the airport. I had been there before with my parents a few times. It was big and run down, but then again the whole city was. She walked me to my gate, made sure I had everything, handed me a peice of paper with a telephone number, my passport, and my ticket, and waved as I got on the plane.

To my surprise my seat was first class, which was nice since the flight was excruciatingly long. Exactly seven hours and thirty six minutes after take off I landed at London Heathrow airport, or that's what the voice over the intercom said. I found the nearest pay phone and called the number on the paper. An older man with a thick British accent answered, telling me the details of who would be picking me up. By the time I retrieved my bags and stepped outside they were there. In a Rolls Royce. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the car. I love cars, always have. Maybe it has something to do with where I was born, but it seemed genetically ingrained into me.

The drive was about an hour, and all that was said was asking me how my flight was and the woman's name. Also she had asked me to come up with an alias.

Now I stood in front of a heavy oak door, not knowing what the hell was going on. "Roger. The young man has arrived." Ms. Johnson said, knocking on the door. "Let him in." was the response. It wasn't the same voice as on the phone, but I could tell it was an older man none the less.

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**In future chapters there will be Matt and Mello lemony goodness XD this has been decided already...but obviously not now :P **

**Sorry for the sudden stop...I kinda fell asleep typing and when I woke up I figured that was as good a place as any to end this chapter lol**


	2. Odd One

**A/N: So here is chapter 2!YAY _ Took me way longer then it should of for me to write this...I really hope you like! R&R please!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note in any way, shape, or form (except the dvd's I have...those I do own :P)**

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**Near's pov**

I leaned carefully off of the top bunk, trying to snap the Lego's into place without falling and bringing the entire structure down with me. I had done that before...twice. It was not pleasant. More then the fact that I had turned lovely shades of black, blue, purple, red, and green, hours of my careful work had been destroyed before I finished it. The first time I fell off the top bunk on to my recreation of the World Trade Center in New York I had broke my right pinkie finger and jammed the middle finger. I had to teach myself to write with my left hand. Honestly even I couldn't read what I wrote.

The second time I fell was worse. I ended up landing on my tailbone, snapping it. That was one of the worst pains I've ever experienced. I spent four days laying on my stomach in the infirmary. I seriously thought I was going to go insane. Nothing to do but sleep for four days. When they finally let me out they told me I wasn't allowed to make my Lego towers anymore.

The next day I built the Golden Gate Bridge. Not as easy as it sounds.

Why do I continue to climb on the top bunk when I know perfectly well I could seriously injure myself? Simple answer is I'm short and can't reach the top without climbing on something. Not so simple answer...I can not be bored. Ever. I have to constantly be doing something, _anything_.

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**Matt's pov**

"Don't just stand there boy, come in." An old man with a bad disposition said from behind a large wooden desk. I scowled at him as I shuffled into the office. I hated being called 'boy', or 'kid', or 'child' for that matter. I had a name. It suddenly dawned on me that no one was going to use that name, that's why Ms. Johnson asked me to come up with an alias. Man I was slow today, I blame it on jet lag.

The man shuffeled through some papers, frowning down at them suddenly. He looked up at me, frown still on his face, "Did you think of a name yet?" I bit my lip and hiked the backpack with my essentials in it up on my shoulders. "Matt." I finally said. He cocked an eyebrow at me, "Matt it is." He scribbled something down on the sheet, probably the name I gave him.

I'm not terribly creative, so I used the nick name of a character from a book I was reading on the plane. The batteries on the Gameboy only last so long. I would of used the characters full name, Matrim, but that just seemed weird. Not that my real name wasn't. I still don't know where my parents came up with Mail.

"You will be rooming with a boy called Near. It's the only room we have available at the moment. You will go only by the name Matt from now on. Think of Wammy's house as a boarding school more than an orphanage." He paused, softening his tone. "You will have class Monday through Friday. Breakfast is at seven, lunch at noon, dinner at five. Five till ten is free time that can be used as you like, but we suggest studying. Weekends are free but you are not permitted to leave the grounds without an escort. Any questions?" He finished. I stared at him for a minute, I had a lot of questions. "Yeah. Where exactly am I? I know I'm in England, but that's all. Also my aunt said this was a school for gifted children. What exactly does that mean?" I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets. I really wanted my Gameboy...

"You are in Winchester. As for this being a school for gifted children, you will understand that more tomorrow. Basically the school's founder brings children here and to other similar schools all over the world. We cultivate your talents to the best of our abilities. The information we have on you states that you have a knack for electronics. Is that true?" He answered. I blush slightly, I really hate how easily I blush sometimes. "I guess. I mean I wired up the computers and Internet for the middle school and high school back home. I would of done my school too except we didn't have any computers." I answer. It always sucked that my school didn't have computers. "From what I understand you can do much more then set up computers." He said to me in a knowing tone. I look away, blushing again. A lot of the things I did weren't exactly legal.

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**Near's pov**

I was just putting the finishing touches on my Lego tower when there was a knock on the door, startling me so much that I nearly toppled off the bed. "What?" I called harshly. It was almost nine at night, there is no reason for someone to be bothering me. The door opens slowly, it's Roger. "Near, you have a new roommate."

This gets my attention. A roommate? Seriously? I had just been thinking earlier that day how nice it was to _not_have a roommate. "I thought I told you not to do that anymore." Roger says, frowning at the Lego tower. "You did." I answer, climbing down the ladder. Roger makes an exasperated sound and mumbles something about children being the death of him. Now that I'm on the ground I can see out the door. Standing next to Roger is a boy who appears to be a little older than me. In the dimly lit hallway it looks like he has brown hair and glasses. All I can see of what he's wearing is a hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

"Near, this is Matt. Matt, Near. Be nice to each other." Roger says, turning and leaving. The boy remained in the hall, looking a little lost. "You can come in." I finally say, sitting on my bed, grabbing a Rubik's cube that was on my pillow. The boy, Matt, stepped in dragging a huge suitcase behind him. I glance up and notice two of my observations were wrong. First he wasn't wearing glasses, he was wearing orange tinted goggles. The second was his hair was not brown. Now that the light in the room was hitting it it was gleaming a rich ruby red. "That's an odd hair color." I say out loud. He looks at me and smirks, "You're one to talk."

This amuses me. I grab a strand of my hair and begin to twirl it in my fingers, glancing at it. "I suppose you're right." I answer. "Did you build that?" He asks, looking at my Lego rendition of the Eiffel Tower. "Who else would of?" I ask. He smiles sheepishly at me, rubbing the back of his neck, "Point. So I'm guessing the top bunk is mine?" He asks. I nod a response. He just stands there for a minute, looking at the TV that is currently off. "Do you care if I use that?" He asks, pointing at said electronic. "Be my guest, just don't turn it up to loud." I answer. "Sweet!" He says racing over to it, dropping his backpack off his shoulders.

"So you're from Canada?" I ask. He looks over his shoulder at me, pulling something out of his bag. "No, America. But I get the Canadian thing alot. It's something about where I lived, we were right across the river from Canada and I guess alot of us sound like we're from there." He answers with a smile. I nodd my understanding to him. With that information I was pretty sure I knew where he was from.

**Matt's pov**

So this is my new roommate eh? I think, looking at the boy playing with the colorful cube on the bed. He was an odd one, that's for sure. He was in all white pajamas, which I guess isn't that weird considering Roger (he finally told me his name on the way up here) said bedtime was ten. Even the fact that his hair was pure white and his skin only a shade or two darker wasn't _that_weird. It was odd to see such dark eyes with hair and skin that color though. What made this Near kid really odd to me were his mannerisms. He seemed really reserved, but not. It's hard to explain. It's like his thought process didn't work the same as normal people. And how the HELL did he make such a HUGE Lego structure? I don't think I've ever seen so many Lego's in my life!

I take in the room quickly, it's about what I would expect a dorm to look like. Nothing special. There is the bunk bed, obviously. Next to the bottom bunk was a little night stand with a digital clock set to military time, a shelf on the wall above the top bunk. There were tall dressers on either side of the bed, lamps on top of them. The other side of the room had two identical desks and a TV in the middle. A television! OH MY GOD YES! I ask the kid if he minds if I use it, he says no. With more joy than I can almost contain I run over to the TV and start pulling my game system and controllers out of my backpack. I had just bought a SWEET looking game called Resident Evil the day before my aunt told me I was leaving and have been absolutely DYING to play it! I hook up my PlayStation with almost shaking hands, put in the game, grab a sucker and sigh contentedly. I hear the kid behind me snicker. "What?" I ask, pulling the lollipop out of my mouth. "Nothing. It just amused me to see you get so excited." He answers, not looking at me. He is putting together some kind of puzzle now, the Rubik's cube sitting completed next to him. Wow that was fast.

I smile at him, maybe this kid isn't all bad. "Sorry, I was going through game withdrawal." I say. "I could see that." He responds with a small smile of his own. I turn back to the screen, watching the opening cinematic. This looks so AWESOME! Freaking zombies! "So do you ever play?" I ask him. My fingers are flying over the buttons and zombies are going splat when he finally answers. "No. I've never played a video game." He says in a monotone voice. I turn, jaw dropped. "You're shitting me?" and immediately slap a hand over my mouth, jabbing myself with the stick of my sucker. "Sorry, didn't mean to cuss. But you have to be joking! You've _never_ played a video game? _Ever_?" I said in astonishment. How could you never play a video game? "I'm not joking. I've never played a video game." I just shake my head and return to slaughtering the undead.

I'm really not sure how long I had been playing when I heard Near stand up. I kill one more zombie and pause the game. "Are you going to bed? Do you want me to turn this off? Sorry my internal clock is still five hours behind you." I say, turning to the pale boy. "No you're fine. I was going to go get a snack." He pauses for a moment, "Did you want to come with me?" He asks. I glance at the clock next to Near's bed, 01:03. Wow time flies when you're killing things. I realise the last time I ate anything (besides my suckers) was on the plane. "Sure." I tell him, standing. "Okay, but we have to be quiet. If Roger catches us he'll yell at us, and I really don't want to deal with that."

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**Near's pov**

I enter the dark hallway with Matt close behind me. I notice that as soon as we are out of the room that he moves his goggles from his eyes to the top of his head. I really wonder why he wears those? I'll have to ask him later.

I grab for the door before it can slam shut. All the doors in the boys dorm were heavy and swung closed loudly. I don't know about the girls, their rooms were in another wing of the house and the boys weren't allowed over there. Of course the girls weren't allowed over here either. I motion for the taller boy to follow me and head down the hall towards the stairs.

Just before the stairs I actually have to turn back to make sure Matt is still following me. He is incredibly quiet when he moves. "Stay to the right when you get to the thrid step down otherwise it creaks really bad." I whisper to him. He nodds his understanding.

Once we make it down the stairs its not to far to the kitchen. Roger should be asleep this time of night so there is really no worry about walking in front of his office. It was always that step that got me in trouble before.

"What do you want to eat?" I ask Matt in a hushed voice once we reach the kitchen. He shrugs, "What is there?" I think about it for a minute, "Pretty much anything. Crisps, cookies, candy, lunch meat." I start to name things off to him. "Crisps?" He asks. That's right, they don't say crisps. "Chips." I clarify. "Chips and cookies work. As long as they aren't oatmeal raisin, I hate those." He explains. I nod and start to climb up on the counter. They started keeping the snacks in the higher cabinets once kids started sneaking in to get them. I was not the only child who did this.

"Why do you wear those?" I ask, handing Matt a small bag of chips. "Oh these?" He taps on his goggles. I nodd, sitting down to jump off the counter. "My eyes are really sensitive to light. Actually all of me is. I'm allergic to the sun too." He answers. "Really?" I ask. I never met anyone who was actually allergic to the sun. "What happens?" I add. "I break out in these little itchy bumps everywhere and start to blister. I could probably get a tan still, I don't actually burn." He explains, opening the bag of chips. "Intresting." I respond around the cookie in my mouth.

Matt's eye's go wide and he grabbs my sleeve, pulling me into the little space between the industrial sized refridgerator and the counter, slapping a hand over my mouth. I just look at him startled. What was he doing? He must of seen my confusion because he points at the doorway. I see a shadow engulfing the entrance then Roger came into view. We both pull back as far as possible. Roger glanced around, mumbling something to himself then walked back out.

Matt and I sat in silence for a few minutes, listening. Finally the tell tale sound of Roger's door closing was heard, at which point Matt started to laugh. Matt's laughing was contagious, causing me to laugh as well. "That was great!" He said out of breath, "The look on your face when I grabbed you...priceless." He adds, still laughing. I shake my head, "You scared me. I didn't know what you were doing." I expaline. "I'm sorry, I just didn't want us to get caught." He says, grin plastered on his face. "Well thats obvious." I respond, eyeing him strangely. Of course he didnt want us to get caught. There was really no reason to explain that.

"You're an odd one Near." Matt says, messing up my hair. I look up at him, he's still smiling. "Everyone tells me that."


	3. Stay in Shadow

**A/N: Okay this took me two days to write because I kept getting distracted...a.d.d. is awesome XD (wait, did it take me two day? Idk days blur together when you don't sleep) Oh and the amazing Mello makes his appearence in this chapter! I wasn't going to bring him in until next chapter but...yeah, it just fit hehe.**

**There are a few o.c in this chap too, but it had to be done...forgive me! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! (and I really enjoyed writing this chap for some reason hehe) Please R&R! (Oh and i don't own Death Note, just had to throw that in)**

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**Matt's pov**

I had been at Wammy's house for a little over three months now, and honestly it wasn't to bad. As far as roommates went I could of had worse. Near hardly talked at all and never complained about the odd hours I was up playing my video games. He sure beat the hell out of my "cousins".

Yesterday Roger had called Near and I into his office to let us know that a room was opening up. He told us we could chose who moved into it, which wasn't a big deal since it was the room next door. Near volunteered to be the one to move, saying it would be easier for him then me. I had _kinda_ taken over the whole room with electronics. I felt bad about making Near move though, and I told him so. He had been in that room for over four years after all. Near didn't understand the big deal, stating that the rooms were exactly the same. I didn't bother trying to explain why staying in the room you had spent most of your life in would be important to most people.

It was Saturday and I couldn't of been happier. I'm smart, don't get me wrong, but damn we did a lot of work here! I'm also lazy as hell. I much rather just sit in my beanbag chair and slaughter the masses then go to class. Well, I suppose most kids would rather do that.

Except for the slaughtering the masses thing, maybe that was just me.

Today I was actually outside, shock! It was fall and we had been having beautiful weather the past week. I was sure it was going to storm or something by the time the weekend rolled around, but amazingly it was still gorgeous out. Back home we would of called this an "Indian summer". Here I have no idea what they call it, if anything.

Normally I try to avoid going outdoors like the plague. It's to much work. I have this ridiculous allergy to the sun first of all, which sucks if I may say so myself. I seriously must look even weirder then normal right now, but then again weird is a relative term here at Wammy's house.

I can't stand slathering that greasy sunscreen all over myself, so I improvise. At the moment I was wearing my favorite shirt, long sleeved with black and red stripes, jeans and tennis shoes, a light weight hoodie with the hood pulled as far over my face as possible, and gloves. Yup I was wearing gloves in sixty degree weather. Don't ask me what that is in Celsius, I'm to lazy to do the conversion. I also have my awesome goggles and my gameboy. Sitting in the shade of the tree, no one bothering me, life was good.

Oh that brings me to the second reason I don't go outside. There are people out here. Being around to many people tends to cause panic attacks. Yeah I know, I'm a dork.

But I'm an epic dork. Heh.

I seriously think every kid at the school was outside today, but that was okay, because none of them were near me. Over the past few months I gained the reputation of being the "Nice loner guy". I did tend to stay away from everyone. Well everyone but Near, but that couldn't be helped. And honestly being around Near was almost the same as being alone.

Speaking of Near, even he was outside. The pale child sat by the wall alone, doing some puzzle. Near was always doing puzzles, or building things, or playing with some toy. I had never met someone who had as many toys as he did. I had actually gotten him to play Mario Kart with me a few times on my Nintendo 64, he seemed to enjoy it, but preferred to play with more mundane toys...like transformers. Which weren't all bad, I mean they turn into cars. Which is pretty awesome.

And what I had first assumed were pajamas for bed ended up being his normal clothes. Like I said, weird was a relative term here. I asked him once why he wore pajamas all the time. He said they were comfortable. Ask a stupid question...

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**Near's pov**

I was outside. Oh joy. Roger had insisted on it, saying I needed the fresh air. I told him I could just open the window in my room if I wanted fresh air. He told me to get outside.

Tomorrow I would have my own room again. This pleased me. Matt had turned out to be an all right roommate, but I preferred to be alone. Matt didn't talk much, all he really did was play his video games and fiddle with the computers he had set up, on both desks. He didn't even complain when I climbed onto his bed to finish my Lincoln log structure. He did laugh at me though.

I figured about an hour would be enough to satisfy Roger. I still had thirty eight minutes left. Sigh. I stop twirling my hair and dump my puzzle out for the third time. It was my hardest one, small pieces and all white, but it didn't take me more then five minutes to finish it.

I pull my left knee up to my chest and rest my cheek on it, sighing again. Why was it so important that I go outside? There was nothing special about the yard, or the other students. It was all exactly the same as it had been for years, give or take a few children.

I'm halfway through my puzzle when a shadow covers me.

I glance up, identifying the three older boys who stand over me. They weren't particularly bright, as a matter of fact I had not been able to identify any talents they might posses except the ability to be intimidating. They had to have some type of talent to be here though, didn't they?

"Hey cotton ball, wacha doin?" The tallest boy who went by J asked.

"Original." I mumble, not moving from the position I'm in.

"What was that?" He moves a step closer.

I snap another piece of the puzzle in. "I said I'm doing a puzzle, that should be obvious." I answer, placing down three more pieces.

"That's not what you said you albino freak." J growls out.

"I'm not albino." I place another piece.

"What?" He steps closer.

"Hard of hearing?" I mutter. I know I should just stop now, but I can't. These guys just make it to easy.

J kicks my puzzle over just as I'm about the place the last piece. "What the hell did you say?" It's almost a shout now.

I glance up at him, "I'm not albino. I'm leucistic. If I were albino my eyes would be red or blue. As you can see, they are brown." I explain.

Apparently he didn't actually want an explanation. The next thing I know his foot is connecting with my chest and I'm tumbling backwards, breath knocked out of me.

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**Matt's pov**

I just start talking to Yoda when I hear something across the yard that catches my attention. Where Near had been sitting on his own, there were now three guys who were older than me looming over the small kid. What the hell were they doing?

Near must of made some smart ass comment, he liked to do that, because the next thing I know I hear J shouting "What the hell did you say?" I can't help but laugh.

Until I see J kick Near so hard he ends up flat on his back.

Near is a tiny kid, smaller then most people his age, why the hell were these guys fucking with him? I had discovered that my roommate wasn't exactly the most liked kid here, but he wasn't hated either. Near didn't like people, so he avoided them. That mixed with his odd coloration was enough to get him picked on, but I had never seen anyone actually hit him!

I watch J haul off and kick Near again, his friends laughing. I'm on my feet before I realize what I'm doing.

Near is curled up trying to protect his head and stomach from the blows. He doesn't fight back. I can't really blame him, he's to small to do anything but piss J off more.

I find myself heading over there, shoving my gameboy in my back pocket. What the hell am _I_ doing? If I step in it will be three against one, I can't count on Near to help. J grabs Near by his shirt collar and shoves him against the wall. I watch as he cocks his fist and slams it into the left side of Near's face. That's it. I have to stop that ass somehow. Near's my friend, wether he knows that or not. Near is the only friend I have here. Which is kinda sad when you think about it.

I know how to fight, kinda. My mom put me in karate like all the other parents did once I started kindergarden. She use to say that all kids did in our neighborhood. Go to school, come home, go to karate, eat dinner, do your homework, go to bed, repeat. So in theory, I know how to fight, like in competition, where there are rules and judges...oh hell, at least I know I can take a hit.

I take a deep breath and tap J on the shoulder, "Hey J?" He turns around and I slam the heel of my palm into his nose.

"Fuck!" J drops Near, covering his nose. Near just sits on the ground, looking up at me in astonishment. J's friends are also staring at me like I just grew a second head.

"Come on Near, get up!" I shout at my roommate, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet. He stumbles as I drag him behind me. I notice that my hitting J has caught the attention of quite a few of the other kids.

I only get a few feet away with Near when someone grabs me. I let go of Near and turn to kick who grabbed me when someones fist connects with my gut. I don't even have time to straighten up before I'm shoved into the wall. Jon is holding against it by my shoulders, "What you think we would just let you walk away after hitting our friend?" the chunky kid with brown hair spits in my face.

"Well that's what I was hoping." I respond, still trying to catch my breath from the punch.

He punches me in the stomach again. God this sucks.

"Stupid little punk, your gonna pay for that little stunt of yours." J says walking up. He still has blood pouring out of his nose, it makes me smile.

He doesn't like that much. He halls off and punches me in the face exactly like he had Near. I hear a sharp crack as my head is forced to the right.

"God damnit! Stupid fucking goggles!"

I crack open my eyes behind my orange lenses. They're cracked. J is cradling his hand, tears running down his face to mix with the blood. I smile again, except this time it hurts.

Hands grab my goggles and yank them off my face, leaving me blinking into the light. Before I can actually focus on anything a hand balls in my hair and slams my head into the brick behind me.

This time I see spots, vision going dark around the edges.

Another hit to the stomach and I'm on the ground. I can feel pieces of Near's puzzle under my gloved hands.

Jon crouches down in front of me smiling. I roll my eyes up to meet his, only to get hit in the face again.

I'm still on my hands and knees, I see that as a victory.

Jon stands up and I squeeze my eyes closed, getting ready for another kick to the stomach. I hear someone talk instead.

"Hey kid?" The new voice shouts.

"What the hell do you want?" I hear Jon snap back. I don't look up, my head is pounding.

I hear the tell tale sound of a fist hitting flesh and expect to see the owned of this new voice on the ground. Instead I see Jon crumble to the ground in front of me.

I do look up now. My vision swims and the light hurts my eyes. The kid that I assume knocked Jon out in one hit crouches down next to me.

"You ok?" He asks. I nod, big mistake. I twist so I'm sitting and press my hands to my head.

"Are you sure you're ok?" He asks, voice full of concern.

"I'm fine." I respond, without nodding this time.

I open my eyes and look at my savior now. The kid is blocking the sun so I can actually see him without squinting. The boy looks like he's my age with longer blonde hair and almond shaped blue eyes. His long sleeved black shirt hangs on him. He looks to small to of been able to take out Jon with one hit.

"Thanks for that." I finally say.

He gives me an odd smile. "No problem. Hey these yours? They look a little broke." He says, handing me my goggles.

I take my sadly busted goggles, "Man this sucks." I whine.

The blonde starts laughing at me, "You just got your ass kicked and your goggles being broke is what sucks?"

I grin and rub the back of my neck sheepishly, "Yeah...I'm Matt by the way."

The kids eyes widen a bit, but then he grins back at me. "I'm Mello. I think you're my new roommate."

* * *

**Sorry if this was kinda rushed in the end, I wanted to get this up before I had to go to the bar for my cousin's going away party...**

**Oh and has anyone figured out where Matt is from yet lol? Ambyr and Holli you two don't count since I already told you ;)**


	4. Two Weeks

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, I get kinda a.d.d. Oh and BfromtheD got my question right lol! I still need to give her a present.... Just as a warning the next chapter will probably have lots of fluff, like kittens fluff. You like fluff, admit it. It's your guilty pleasure... I've never written Mello before so hopefully I did an okay job...please R&R, It helps me improve XD (I still don't own death note, but I do own a new pair of epic goggles!)**

* * *

**Mello's pov**

It had only been two weeks since I arrived here. Two weeks since I stopped that jackass from pounding my new roommate. Two weeks since I met Matt, and Near.

I found out that Near had the top scores in the school, that little freak. I wasn't use to compitition when it came to grades, and I wasn't to thrilled about having some now.

But I did like my new roommate..._a lot_. Matt cracked me up. First of all he was redicously polite. He was always apologising and thanking people. Second, he talked to himself. Like had three way conversations about what he should do next in his game and having that thrid "voice" come out and tell him to shut up... then arguing with that voice. Maybe thats why he didn't talk much to people... Third, he was always asking if I needed anything. Like if he was about to sneak off to the kitchen he would ask, stuff like that.

The kid was weird, and I liked that.

I _didn't _like that he had taken over the _entire_ room except the lower bunk. Walking in our room with the lights off was hazardous to your health. Cords and wires everywhere! It was a fucking fire trap! I'm just waiting for one of those overloaded extension cords to spark and kill us all. I mean come on! He had only been there for three months! How the hell does someone make that big of a mess that fast?

While Matt was recovering from his beating (Man that kid could take a lot of pain. He actually had a mild concusion and a cracked rib) I ordered him to clear off _one_ of the desks and a dresser. He did without complaning. When I saw him wince trying to pick up the moniter for the computer I had to help. I mean he wasn't supposed to lift anything over 20 lbs, and i'm really not sure how much that thing weighed, but it was enough to cause him pain. So I helped. What can I say, i'm a nice guy.

But seriously? How many computers and gaming systems does one person need? He has the two normal computers, a laptop (that he damn near sleeps on top of. I've seen him fall asleep sitting up playing games on that thing.), a Playstation, a Nintendo 64, an Atari jaguar, a couple of different Sega systems, and i'm pretty sure he had more then those. Don't even get me started on the handheld games!

I didn't have much stuff at all, so I guess it was okay that Matt kind of cluttered up the whole space. I had been at a Catholic boarding school in Germany before I came here, and they were pretty strict when it came to what personal possessions you could have. It wasn't a big deal since I lived rather close to the school anyways. I spent two weeks in school then came home for a weeked. It had been that way for around three years. I didn't mind, the school was a really good school, thats why my parents sent me there, and honestly I love to learn. I shared a dorm with three other boys, so basically whatever we could fit in the trunk at the end of our bed is what we could have. Personal touches and decorations were not encouraged.

I had a bad habbit of getting into fights with the other boys at the school. I have done so many Hail Mary's and Our Father's that i've lost count. Yeah it was an all boys school, which suited me just fine. First of all I was there to learn, not to be distracted by the other students. Second I tended to find guys more attractive than girls. I always had. Even when I was really little I was always drawn to the guys on t.v. instead of the girls. Don't get me wrong, some girls can be really beautiful, but they just don't give me the same...feeling. I know it's a sin for me to be a boy and to be attracted to boys, but I can't change how I feel. Believe me i've tried. I even use to pray that I would feel the same about a girl, _any_ girl, that I did about boys. It never happened. I didn't pray much now.

I only own one thing that is precious to me, my rosary. My parents gave it to me for my frist comunion. It was the last gift I would ever get from them. It was beautiful and probably expensive as hell. It was silver and red, the Hail Mary beads being made of real silver and the Our Father's being real rubies. The crucifix at the end was silver inlaid with a huge ruby with a silver depiction of Christ on the cross on top of the ruby. I was completely speachless (which doesn't happen often to me) when I opened the box.

Besides my rosary, the only things I brought with me to Wammy's house were the few outfits I had at school, my sadly depleating stash of chocolate bars, and a trunk full of books. I had novels, text books, note books, encyclopedias, you get the picture. Everything else I owned was gone.

You see, seventeen days ago I lost everything. A fire had broken out in my house in the middle of the night, they still don't know the cause. Everything was destroyed, including my mother, father, and my baby sister. My house was a little bit out in the woods, not far from town, but far enough that no one saw the flames until it was to late. By the time the fire department arrived there was nothing left but smoldering ash.

I was called down to the administrators office the next morning, expecting to be yelled at for beating up some asshole who teased me about my hair or some such shit, instead they told me that there had been a tragic accident and that my family was dead. They informed me that my schooling was paid up through the end of the year and I could stay there until then. After that they didn't know what would happen. I was left quite a bit of money, but being as young as I am I really couldn't touch it. I have no family to speak of, so I probably would be assigned a child welfare officer, and would either be put into foster care or maybe if I was lucky I could remain at the school.

I cried for the first time that I can remember that day. I just sat in the corner, holding my rosary, crying. I don't even remember how long I sat there, all I remember is that I woke up the next morning in the same spot.

Two days later I was called down to the office again. This time I was introduced to an old british guy calling himself Watari. He told me that he ran a school for gifted children, a special orphanage. He told me that only the best and the brightest were invited to live there, children that had nowhere to go but were too talented to let their gifts go to waste being shuffled around foster homes or left in state run orphanages. He had seen my grades, he had also seen my disiplinary records.

He told me that Wammy's house wasn't exactly a place for children to be adopted, that in fact _he_ would be the one adopting _me_ for all intensive purposes. That was fine with me. I didn't want another family. I wasn't very close with the one I was born into, being away at school since I was old enough to go, but they had given me everything that I had ever needed or wanted. I had heard horror stories about kids being adopted by horrible people who just wanted them for the state aid, kids who were sent to foster homes then kicked out into the streets while the "parents" continued to collect checks, and even worse then that. I knew with my shinning record I wouldn't be put into the best home, if anyone wanted to take me at all. Shit I think the only reason anyone would take me is to have access to the money I was left. They could use it to their hearts desire to "take care" of me. Screw that noise.

So I agreed. I grabbed my stuff and within a hour was on a plane to England.

Now, two weeks later I was lying on my bed, eating chocolate, and reading about quantum physics. It's actually really intresting if you get it, which of course I did. Tomorrow was Saturday, which was awesome because we were going into town. I REALLY need more chocolate...and maybe some more clothes, but deffinatly the chocolate.

Speaking of chocolate...where the hell is Matt? That boy was supposed to be bringing me back some more from the kitchen.

* * *

**Matt's pov**

It was about nine thirty at night and I was trying to sneak into the kitchen without Roger seeing. I was _starving_! I'm sorry but I still can't bring myself to eat steak and kidney pie...no matter how hungry I was. The idea of eating organs...ewww. Still better then that black pudding they have for breakfast I guess.

I was standing on the counter top, arms full of chocolate bars and cookies, a bag of Doritos held in my mouth when I heard, "Matt."

I jump at the quiet voice, almost falling off the counter. I drop the bag of Doritos and scramble to catch it without droping the sweets in my arms, "Jesus Near! Don't sneak up on me!" I exclaim, turning to face the small boy. Near just looks confused.

I sit on the counter and slide off of it, still holding the snacks. "What did you want?" I ask him, a little calmer.

"Roger needs to talk to you." Near says simply.

"Do ya know why?" I ask glancing at all the food in my arms, Roger would have a fit if he saw I was taking this much junk food. Near just shrugs, shaking his head no.

I sigh, looking at the snacks in my arms. I can't go talk to Roger holding all of this. I walk up to Near and dump the food in his arms, "Do me a favor and hold these, i'll be right back." I say walking past him.

"Okay?" Near says a little confused. I can't help but smile at the boys responce. Aparently I confused Near a lot.

* * *

I knock on the door to Roger's office and hear his tired responce of "Come in." I enter cautiously, waiting to get yelled at for something. I have been yelled at more by Roger in the past two weeks since Mello showed up then I had in the total three months combined before. Starting with that first day when I got into the fight. Before that day the most I got yelled at for was missing dinner because I was in the middle of a level on a game and wasnt close to a save point.

"Oh Matt, good. There is a package here for you." Roger says pushing a box towards the edge of the desk. My eyes widen, "My goggles!" I exclaime, full of excitement. I grab the box and hug it to my chest.

"Yes, yes. Now off to bed." Roger says dismissivly.

"Thanks Roger!" I say waving and leaving the office, making sure to shut the door behind me. I have to cross his office to get back to the boys dorms from the kitchen. I head back towards the kitchen where Near is still standing, arms full of food.

"It was something good?" Near asks, slightly suprised. See told you I've been getting yelled at a lot lately.

"Immensly. I got my new goggles in!" I answer, grinning stupidly.

Near smiled slightly. I'm not sure if he was smiling at the fact that I got my goggles or at my stupid expression, but whatever.

I look at the box in my hands and back at the food Near is holding. Near sighs, "I'll help." I continue to grin at him, taking some of the food to lighten the load.

* * *

I open the door to my room to be welcomed by Mello whining, "What the hell took you so long?" The blonde sees Near follow me in, "And what is the shrimp doing here?" He asks harsly.

"Be nice Mello, he helped carry _your_ chocolate up here." I say, scolding the boy. Near's eyes narrow towards Mello, Mello's doing the same in responce. I just sigh and shake my head, throwing my food on my desk along with my package. Since that first day that Mello found out I got in the fight to help Near, he didn't like him. He really started to detest him when he found out how easily the pale kid got all A's. Near's good grades never bothered me, but then again most things didn't.

I turn back to Near, taking the chocolate bars out of his arms. "Thanks for that Near." I say with a smile, trying to displell some of the tension in the room.

He just nodds and walks out, closing the door behind him. "What a freak." Mello says, rolling onto his stomach to look at me.

"Mello..." I say in a chiding tone.

"What? He is." He waves his hands, "Anyways, what took you so long?" He asks again.

"Oh! I got my new goggles! and a present for you too." I add, getting excited again. I dump the chocolate bars on the bed infront of him and run over to my package.

"Good. Those sun glasses you keep wearing looked stupid." Mello comments as he tears open the wrapper on one of the bars.

"And goggles look so much cooler?" I retort.

Mello sticks his tongue out at me, "They're unique atleast."

I laugh at his remark, "I'll go with that." I cut open the box with the little pocket knife from my top drawer. We technically arn't supposed to have anything that could be constituted as a weapon, but what Roger didn't know couldn't hurt him...or get me into trouble.

I pulled out a smaller box that had my new goggles in it, silver rimmed with orange lenses, and another pair that was black with green lenses. I had ordered two from a little shop back home. The only kind that had the orange lenses was the silver rimmed, which suited me just fine. I wanted a back-up pair but incase, thats why the black and green. They had only had one pair with orange lenses in stock and the only other option besides green were red, which believe it or not are really hard to see out of, or clear, which defeted the purpose.

I pulled the other thing out of the box, Mello's gift. The shop had a little snack area with pop and candy, don't ask me why a goth-punk store would have that, but it does. It was a Hostess chocolate pudding pie. I use to beg my parents for extra money when we were walking around the little downtown area so I could get one. They always made me want to throw up after, but were SO good!

"Hey Mells, catch." I say tossing the pastry at him.

He catches the package without looking away from his book. "What is this?" Then he looks at it, "Oh you've got to be shitting me? They put chocolate pudding in a glazed pie crust? Like as a snack? Thats so cool!" He exclaims sitting up.

I grin like an idiot at his reaction. I have never met anyone so addicted to chocolate. "It's really not the best chocolate.." I begin.

"Who cares? This is freaking awesome! I'm eating it right now." Mello says quickly, ripping open the package. I just start laughing at his enthusiasm.

"Okay, well im getting ready for bed, i'll be back." I tell him grabbing some clothes. He just makes a mmmhmmm noise and waves me off.

As I leave the room I think, not for the first time, where the hell did they find all these kids? Not one of us was exactly normal. Well, I think i'm pretty normal, but I might be biast.

Who am I kidding? I wear goggles and play video games to the point of passing out from lack of sleep and food, that is not normal.

* * *

**Mello's pov**

The chocolate really wasn't the best, but the fact that they put pudding into a sweet pie crust was awesome!

Matt came back in, grabbing his new goggles, pulling them over his eyes with practiced ease and climbed up onto his bed. I could hear the beep and loading noise of his laptop being booted up. "Your turning that thing on now?" I ask, disaproval dripping from my voice.

"Yeah I want to see what new games came out. I've only been in town one time besides this since i've been here, I need to stock up." He answers.

"You and your games, its sad really." I tell him dismissivly.

"Oh and your addiction to chocolate isn't? At least my games wont clog my arteries." The auburn haired boy snapped back.

"Whatever dork." I mumble, to tired to argue more. I flop back onto my pillow and grab a chocolate bar, taking off a piece with a loud snap. I hear Matt laughing at me. "Shut up Matt." He just laughs harder.

"God your annoying, turn off the light." I say in exasperation.

Suddenly I see Matt looking down from the top bunk, upside down. "Turn off the damn light yourself, you're closer."

I smack him. Not hard or anything.

"Oww, you bastard. Now i'm really not turning the light off." Matt exclaimes, pulling himself back up onto his bunk.

"Fine we'll just sleep with the light on then." I say, crossing my arms. I am _not_ going to give into him.

"Thats fine with me. I can sleep with the light on. You can't." He pauses, "Good night Mello." He says cheerfully.

I sit there for at least twenty minutes. Matt was right, I couldn't sleep with the lights on.

I get up and look at the top bunk. Matt was facing away from me, breathing deeply. Good he was asleep. As quietly as possible I cross the room and flip the switch off.

Only to hear Matt start laughing.

"Fuck you Matt!" I yell as I throw the closest thing to me at him, a shoe. I hear him yell when it hits him, only to start laughing again.

It's okay, tomorrow I will make his life a living hell.

* * *

**DunDunDun...What will Mello do to Matt? Really I have no idea yet either :P Any suggestions?**

**Also I don't know when I will be posting next. Hopefully I will have one more chapter up before the World Steam Expo (Steam Punk Convention). I will be working there most of next week and weekend...so little time to write, but lots of fun! (More fun if I wasnt still in a cast and on crutches DX)**


	5. This could be anywhere in the world

**A/N: Sorry this took so long (Holli lol) but between my add and writers block I just couldnt get going on this chapter :P But it's done now! I promissed you kitten fluff and you shall have it! Also there is mention of L in this chapter. Sorry if it's kinda rushed in the end, I have a migraine from hell and I think im going to die :/ **

**Also just incase you were wondering about the chapter names, yeah they're all just random songs off my phones music player. Nothing in particular to do with the chapters it self :P**

**Promise I will finish Road Trip from Hell next XD If I don't die from my head exploding that is. **

**Please R&R, It may save my brain from imploding...oh and Ambyr hope your fingers feeling better :P**

**

* * *

**

Mello's pov

"Mello get up! We're gonna miss the bus!" Matt shouted at me. I really didn't want to get up. I was exhausted and Saturday's were really my only day to sleep in.

I grumble at him. I feel hands grip my ankles, actually pulling me out of bed. "Ow, bastard." I say rubbing my head.

"Good, you're awake. Get dressed." Matt says cheerfully.

"I hate you." I mumble, covering my eyes with my arm.

"You love me, now put some clothes on. I'll be downstairs."

I decide Matt is entirely to chipper in the morning for his own good.

* * *

Matt's pov

I was nearly bouncing up and down waiting for us to leave. I really wanted to get in to town and check out the new games. Where the hell was Mello?

I spot Near by the wall doing a puzzle, and decide to go and talk to him for a while. I seriously think I'm the only one who talks to that kid, besides Linda maybe...or Mello. Of course Mello's talking consists of nothing but insults that Near just shrugs away.

"Hey. I can't wait to go into town, how about you?" I ask the pale kid, squatting down infront of him. Near glances up, evalulating me.

"I'm not going." He tell me in that monotone voice of his.

"Really? Why not?" I ask tilting my head to the side. Near couldn't of gotten in trouble, he never did anything but go to class and play with his toys.

Near shrugs, "I don't feel like it. To much walking, and it's cold."

This was perfectly logical, at least for Near. I guess if i had lived here my whole life I wouldn't be as excited about going into town either.

"So what ya gonna do instead?"

Near shrugs, snapping the last piece of his puzzle in place, then dumping the whole thing out. "Play with my toys in silence. I like it that way."

I take the hint and stand up, smoothing out my jeans. "Do you want me to get you anything while I'm in town?"

Near shakes his head, "I'm fine. Thank you."

"Alright. Well. I guess I'll see you later." I say, walking away.

"Okay." I hear Near reply. I shake my head, that kid really is odd.

I see Mello descending the stairs, finally. "What took you so long?" I shout at him, practically jumping up and down. He scowls at me. Mello cracks me up in the morning.

"I had to get dressed." He mumbles, jumping over the last stair. I look him up and down. Dark blue jeans, black hiking boots, over sized black shirt and a black leather trench coat.

"Dude it only takes like two minutes to put on what your wearing." I tell him. I should know. I'm wearing tennis shoes, jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and a hoodie. Same amount of clothing.

"I had to brush my teeth and hair too." He whines.

"Excuses, excuses. Let's go." I tease, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the door.

* * *

Mello's POV

The bus ride was uneventful, just a lot of hyper active children crammed together in a vehicle. I stared out the window at the grey countryside while Matt sat next to me playing his game boy, goggles in place, lollipop in his mouth. I swear Matt has an oral fixation. He always has something in his mouth, whether it be a lollipop, or gum, or a pen he's chewing on. He bites his nails too if he doesn't have anything else to chew or suck on.

I find it kinda captivating, watching him do that, but I'd never tell him so. He's my friend, and from what I can tell he's into girls. Don't want to scare him off...

I gaze out the window again. All the trees are losing their leaves, the grass turning an ugly brown. It was a week before Halloween, part of the reason why we were going into town. Roger told us that every year they hold a Halloween party at Wammy's house, complete with cake and lots of sweets. We needed to get costumes.

When I asked about the cake he said it was to celebrate L's birthday. This was the first time i've ever heard about this L person. Roger said we would learn more about him when we got a little older.

As long as there is chocolate involved I couldn't care less who's birthday it was to be honest.

"Okay children listen up." Roger says a the bus slows to a stop. "You all know the rules, so please follow them. Always stay in groups of two or more, no stealing or breaking anything, basically don't do anything that will get you arrested. I don't feel like bailing anyone out of jail today. Check in with your assigned chaperon every hour, and we will all meet up from lunch at thirteen hundred hours. Any questions?"

All the children shake their heads and mumble no. Roger sighs, "Okay, go on then. Please do not get into trouble."

* * *

Matt's POV

"So where do you want to go first Mell's? The sweet shop? The game store? The Halloween store?" I ask Mello, walking backwards so I can face him.

"You're going to run into a pole if you keep that up." He points out.

I shrug, "So? I'm a klutz, I would probably run into a pole if I was walking normal. At least this way when I do I don't look like such a retard." I say, sticking my tongue out. Mello laughs at this.

"You really are a klutz. Let's go to the sweet shop first, I'm not interested in video games, and Halloween shit can wait. I do want to go to the book store though at some point."

"Kay kay." I say turning around. I quickly have to step to the left to avoid colliding with a trash can. Mello starts laughing hysterically at this.

* * *

Mello's POV

"Oh. My. God. Look at all this chocolate!" I exclaim, practically running in to the store. Matt is laughing at me, and you know what? I don't give a shit. I decide this is what heaven must look like. Aisle after aisle of chocolate, sweets of every kind around the edges, and I'm kinda embarrassed to say this, but, Matt.

I can't help it! I adore the kid! All his weird quirks, his firery auburn hair that seems to go from dark brown to blinding scarlet depending on the light, his emerald eyes, how he blushes all the time, the way he says "pop" and "suckers"...I adore everything about him. Down to the fact that most of his wardrobe is jeans and striped shirts. He's just so cute!

"Are you coming? I thought you wanted more 'suckers'." I make air quotes around suckers, teasing him.

"Silence Mello! You shall not make fun of me for the way I say things!" Matt says in a dramatic voice, laughing at the end. I roll my eyes at him and smile in return.

I grab a little basket and quickly fill it to the point of overflowing with different brands of chocolate bars. I hear Matt squeal in delight to my right and whip around to look at him.

"Oh gods this is so epic! A bag of TWO HUNDRED Dum-Dum Pops! I'm getting five bags! Then I'll have a THOUSAND suckers!" Matt says, overly excited.

"Look, he can add." I tease.

I think it's funny that he switches between God and gods randomly. Apparently he's agnostic, doesn't believe in anything, but excepts the fact that there might be something out there. He told me once that his mom was Irish Catholic and that dad was Algonquin Native American, which are usually Catholic or Lutheran and polytheistic, as in they believe in many gods. He said his dad was other stuff too, that it was him that he got his hair from, but he never found out what.

Matt knew his dad was from Canada originally, Quebec to be percise. So he was likely part French too. He told me his dad had almost black eyes, tan skin, and dark auburn hair. His mom was Black Irish and from Detroit. Black curly hair, green eyes, and fair skin with dark undertones, with freckles across her cheeks.

I stare at the boy in question and can see where he inherited everything from his parents. The hair and eye color was obvious. He defiantly got his mothers odd skin tone. His eye shape had to be his fathers, or that's my best guess. Almost a perfect almond shape, but large. He had such big puppy dog eyes. My guess was the high cheek bones and full lips had to be from his dad's Native American heritage as well.

"Did I not tell you to _silence _Mello? Quit teasing me!" Matt whines playfully.

"When have I listened to what you tell me to do since we met?" I joke, walking up to the counter.

"Good point." Matt concedes with a smirk.

* * *

Matt's POV

We pay for our candy and head to the bookstore. Mello wanted to look at some new books and we had to check in with our chaperon, who just happened to be Roger. He told us as we were leaving the bus that he would be at the bookstore, so in fact, we were killing two birds with one stone.

"Hey Roger, were checking in." Mello says, walking past the old man.

"It's been over an hour you two." Roger scolds.

"Yeah by like three minutes, chill out." Mello calls over his shoulder.

Roger mumbles something about unruly children under his breath. "Sorry about that Roger, we kinda got caught up at the sweet shop." I apologise, blushing.

"I can see that. I don't think I've seen someone carrying so many sweets around since L." Roger responds with a wistful smile.

This catches Mello's attention. "Okay, who is L? You've been talking about him a lot lately."

I'm also intrested in this. The way Roger talks about this L person, it's like he's talking about some kind of god.

"I suppose I could tell you now. Come. Sit." Roger says with a sigh, waving at the couch across from him. He closes the book he was reading and sets it on the little table next to him.

Mello and I sit next to each other on the couch. I always thought it was weird that book stores had little sitting areas for people to read. I mean, wasn't the whole purpose of a store to sell books? If you want to just sit and read, you can go to a library.

Roger glances around. The store is nearly empty save the three of us. There is a young woman flirting with a man with bad acne at the overpriced coffee counter, both of them obviously employees, but that's it.

"L is basically the reason you children are in this school. He is a genius, the worlds greatest dectictive, and a former student of Wammy's house." Roger begins.

"Wait, what do you mean 'L is basically the reason' we are at Wammy's house?" Mello asks, leaning forward.

"If you let me explain Mello, you will understand." Roger says sternly.

"Then by all means, explain." Mello says sarcastically, leaning back against the couch again. The blond stretches his arms across the back of the sofa, finger tips grazing my shoulder. I throw him a sideways glance, but his attention is completely focused on the man in front of us.

"As I was saying, L is a genius. The greatest detective the world has ever seen. You children are here to cultivate your various talents, as you know, but the main reason you are here is to find a successor for L. One day he may retire, or fall ill, or heaven forbid, die. When this happens, we will need someone to take over his title, his position. Only the most intelligent, most sly, the best and the brightest, may take his position. We have brought children from around the world to Wammy's house to find that successor." Roger explains.

"Wait? So this is basically a contest? Why didn't you tell us?" I ask.

"We haven't told you because we felt it was to much of a strain to put on children as young as you. We have had...issues, with other children in the past who were informed of what we wished of them. The stress was to much for them." The old man says sadly.

I wonder what could of happened to put that tone in Rogers voice, but decide not to ask. He probably wouldn't answer me anyways. It's fine, I know i'll figure it out eventually.

"Were you ever planning on telling us?" Mello asks, eyes narrowed.

"Of course we were! L would be furious with us if we didn't. We, like L, were just worried about your well being." Roger exclaimed.

"Soooo, who's winning?" Mello asks. I'm wondering the same thing.

Roger sighs, rubbing his face. "This is exactly what we didn't want. We encourage competition, but not for this."

"Just tell us Roger, you know Mell's wont let it go until you do." I say. Mello grins.

"It's not that easy you two. It's not based on one particular thing."

"Roger..." Mello pries.

"Fine, If I were to be judge, which I'm not mind you, I would say it would be the two of you and Near. You three have the best scores in class and the best problem solving skills. But as I said, it's not my decision. That is up to L." Roger sighs again. "That is all I'm saying on the subject. I would appreciate it greatly if you did not mention this to the other students just yet. We will let them know when the time is right."

* * *

Mello's POV

After our little talk with Roger I couldn't concentrate on looking at books. I grabbed a few that looked interesting and let Matt drag me to the game store. I swear that boy would of bought out the whole store if he could. Instead he walked out with twelve new games. My bet was he would beat them all in a week.

All the kids met up for lunch. Matt got a cheeseburger, which he smothered in ketchup within an inch of its life. I got broccoli soup, a house salad, and bread sticks. I must of eaten twenty of those stupid bread sticks. They were delicious.

Lunch was mercifully quick. A lot of the kids piss me off, especially the guys I kicked the shit out of the first day for beating up Matt.

Matt damn near pulled me to the Halloween store, telling me about "Devil's Night" that they had back in Detroit. Apparently it was the night before Halloween, where people damn near torch the city. It actually sounded pretty fun in my opinion. I would definitely like to see that one day.

Matt just buys some face paint, informing me that he's going to be a zombie. I get some fangs, white face paint, and fake blood, deciding that I'm going to be a vampire. It's and easy enough costume.

It's only an hour before we are supposed to meet back at the bus when Matt hears something coming in the ally. "Hold up Mello." He says, running into the dark space. I sigh, putting a hand on my hip, tapping my foot.

"Oh my god Mell's! Come here!" Matt calls. I quickly enter, worrying that something bad has happened.

Something bad had happened, but not what you would think.

There Matt stood, holding the scrawniest looking kitten I had ever seen. Matt had the most pathetic look I had ever seen on his face.

"Oh no, Matty, no. We can't bring a cat home with us." I say, shaking my head, holding my hands out in front of me.

"But Mells! He'll die if we leave him here! He can't be more then a couple of weeks old, and look! He's just skin and bones! We can't just let him die!" Matt said sadly, working the puppy dog eyes.

"Matt, if Roger finds out, he'll kill us." I try to rationalise.

"He wont really kill us, but if we leave little Mew here he really will die!" Matt retorts.

"You already named it?" I exclaim.

"Of course I did!" He says, like it should be obvious, something absolutely normal. Man I knew I lost this battle as soon as Matt gave it a name.

"Fine! Fine, but if Roger catches us, it's your fault." I finally say, giving in.

Matt tackles me in a hug, causing me to freeze. He pulls away, one arm still around my shoulders. He's grinning from ear to ear and my heart melts. "Thank you thank you thank you! I'll completely take care of little Mew, I promise! Oh Mells your the best friend ever!" He exclaims happily. I have to grin back at him.

"Well if we're taking home a kitten we better get some stuff for it." I tell him.

"Let's go! I know exactly what we need. I grew up with four cats." He tells me.

I follow the overly excited kid down the street, smiling as I watch him cuddle the emaciated kitten. I try to hold on the the happyness, because I know as soon as Roger finds out, all hell will break lose.

Now how the hell were we going to smuggle a cat and all it's supplies back into Wammy's house?

****

* * *

**Next shall be the Halloween party/L's birthday! Yay! Maybe a certain someone might even make a suprise apprearence dressed in disguise... ^_^ but maybe not...im kinda dilusional from the pain in my head right now XP**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Okay I know it's taken me forever to write this chapter, I'm sorry! As I keep saying, I get easily distracted lol. There *might* be an appearance by the world famous L in this chapter! I hope you enjoy! R&R is amazing...I do not own Death Note.**

* * *

Near's POV:

"Roger! I need to talk to you." Linda said running up to the old man. I was sitting on the floor of the rec room, playing with my personalised puppets when the girl came barging in excitedly. I don't think she noticed me, which is nothing new.

"Can I help you Linda?" Roger said, sounding tired. Linda was always bugging Roger, and I could tell it annoyed him to no end when the girl was around.

"Yes you can. Why do Mello and Matt get to have a kitten but no one else does?" Linda asked, eyes narrowed, hands on her hips.

My eyes go wide at this. How did Linda find out about Mew? As far as I knew only Matt, Mello, and I knew about the little kitten.

"What in Gods name are you going on about child? There are no pets in this house." Roger said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Yes there is! Jay told me they brought a cat back from town. Why are they allowed a kitty and no one else is?" Linda demands, stomping her foot.

At this point I start to gather up my toys, standing and heading for the hall. I could care less if Mello got in trouble, actually that would be quite amusing, but Matt...Matt was my friend. Kinda. Well as close to a friend as I had.

"Pets are strictly prohibited in this house. I'll see if this rumor is true, but I think I would of noticed them returning with a cat." I hear Roger tell Linda as I hurry up the stairs. Damn that nosey female, why couldn't she mind her own buisness?

I quickly push open the door to their room, not bothering to knock. Matt is on the floor playing with the kitten, Mello sitting at his desk doing something on the computer. Both of their eyes go wide in suprise at the intrusion.

"What the fuck are you doing shrimp?" "Near? What's going on?" I hear them say simultaniously. I walk over to the litter pan, kicking it under the bed, then kicking a pair of pants laying on the floor in after it. Next I go over to Matt, taking the little black kitten from him.

"Near? What are you doing?" Matt asked confused, looking up at me with orange tinted eyes.

"Roger's coming, Linda told on you. Hide Mew's food." I explaine quickly.

"What?" Matt exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"That fucking bitch! God I hate her!" Mello shouted, nearly knocking over his chair.

"Quick, hide his stuff. I'll take Mew to my room." I say, walking towards the door. I hear Mello and Matt rushing around the room as I peak out the door. I hear footsteps ascending the stairs. I quickly slip out of the room, tucking the tiny animal under my shirt as I make my way to my room next door.

* * *

Matt's POV:

"Fucking bitch, I'll kill her. I hate Linda!" Mello mutters fiercly as he shoves Mew's food into his sock drawer, covering it with clothes. I couldn't agree with him more at the moment. I loved my little Mew, even if I hadn't even had him for a week yet. If Roger found out he would probably take him to the pound. I couldn't let him do that!

There's a knock on the door just as I cover Mew's water bowl with an open geography text book. Mello jumps into his bed, opening a random book while I plop on the floor, grabbing my game boy. "Come in." Mello calls from the bed.

The door opens and Roger enters, glancing around. "I heard that the two of you have a cat in here, is that true?" He asks, narrowing his eyes at us.

I give him wide shocked eyes behind my goggles as Mello looks up from him book, "Does it look like we have a cat in here Roger?"

Roger looks around, sighing. "No, I suppose not." He looks at me, "Matt, you should study a bit more and play games a bit less." he says in a dissaproving tone.

It's my turn to narrow my eyes at him, "Why? Even if I studied more I wouldn't be able to beat Mello or Near. I don't study and i'm still third, so there's really no point is there?"

"Well maybe if you studied you could be second or first." He retorts.

"Oh that would go over well. Mell's would kill me, then I would be last." I laugh, "No thanks, I'm fine with third."

"You're just being lazy."

"I never said I wasn't, but it's still true. If I ever beat Mello in grades, he would slaughter me."

"It's true Roger, I would." Mello says with a grin.

"I don't understand you two." Roger sighs, shaking his head. He exits the room shortly after.

We wait until we hear his foot steps fade away, then I burst into nervous laughter, Mello flopping back on the bed. "Oh my gods that was so close!" I say in between laughs.

"Yeah I hate to admit it, but we owe the white haired brat." Mello said grudgingly.

A pillow hit my head out of nowhere, "Hey!" I exclaime, turning towards the beds.

"I told you bringing that damn animal home was gonna get us into trouble!" Mello hissed, staring down at me from his perch on the bottom bunk.

"Psh, like you care about getting into trouble." I say back, swatting him with the pillow. He blocks his face with his hand, laughing.

"Yeah you're right. I don't give a shit about getting into trouble."

* * *

Mello's POV:

Halloween. Chocolate. Heaven.

Though Matt had been the one excited about getting dressed up for Halloween, I was secretly thrilled. I loved Halloween. You get more chocolate at Halloween then any other time of the year.

Matt and I were both getting our costumes ready, while Near sat in the corner playing with Mew.

Normally any other time I would kick Near out of our room, but the kid adored the kitten, and we owed him for hiding Mew yesterday.

"What are you being for Halloween?" Matt asked Near, while pulling out the stained and torn shirt left over from when he got his ass kicked.

"A Ghost." Near replied, dangling a piece of string infront of the kitten.

"So you're not dressing up?" Matt responded, smirking.

"Nope." Near answered, small smile tugging at his lips. Well holy shit, the kid has a sense of humor.

I couldn't help but grin while listening to them. I smeared white makeup over my face, applied black lipstick, and eyeliner, because I could. It was Halloween after all, and I could do what I want. Anyone who tries to make fun of me will get their ass kicked in a heartbeat.

Now all I needed was to put on the high-collared cape, gold medalion on its red ribbon, a little blood, and fangs. The fangs I bought are the kind that mold right to your teeth, not the cheap plastic kind. It's hard to eat sweets with the cheap fangs.

Matt was doing a pretty good job at his own makeup. His dark auburn hair was sticking up every which way, face pale (and slightly green), dark circles around his eyes, and blood smeared down his chin to his throat. Add the torn and blood stained shirt and some tattered and grass stained jeans and you have a zombie Mattie.

"Matt, why did you keep that shirt?" I ask when it finally dawns on me how odd it is.

He shrugs, "I'm a pack rat. I never throw anything away."

"You're weird." I point out.

"Your point?" He asks, smirking.

"You're weird, that's my point." I say, crossing my arms over my chest. Matt laughs at this, Near making an amused noise from the corner. I frown at the both of them.

* * *

Matt's POV:

"Wow they really go all out don't they?" I say walking into the great room. It was amazing. Black, orange, and silver balloons were everywhere, streamers of the same color hanging from the celing. There was a giant fountain with what looked like blood, but i'm pretty sure was punch, (or at least I hope was punch) with dry ice smoke billowing out. Something resembeling eye-balls floating in the viscous liquid. There was also two chocolate fountains on either end of the long buffet table, bowls of strawberries flanking them. A fog machine filled the room with billowing smoke, jack-o-lanters flickering around the edges. Plates of every candy I could imagine set about. Strobe lights, black lights, skeletons, you name it, it was there.

Roger carried in four pizza boxes and I almost drooled. I hadn't had pizza since I moved here. He carefully set them on a little table next to a HUGE cake. The cake resembled a wedding cake, it was three tiered, with white frosting and strawberries and chocolate drizzled on top.

"Watari!" Near exclaimed in his soft voice (Well, as much as Near can exclaime), walking towards a kind looking old man. _So this is the man I talked to on the phone?_ I thought, watching the white haired boy approach the old man.

"Near. How have you been?" Watari asked, patting the boy's head as he hugged his legs.

Near looked up at the man, smiling, "I've been well."

"I'm glad." He said, smiling back. Watari looked over at Mello and I, smile still on his face. Near let go of his legs and he approached us. "Mello, you look well. I hope you are enjoying your time here." He said, nodding at the blonde.

"I am, thanks." Mello said politely. _So Mello met Watari too? And he's being polite?_ I thought.

The man then turned to me, "And you must be Matt. I'm glad to finally meet you. Roger tells me you have been doing well here." He said, holding his hand out to me. I shake his hand, blushing.

"Yeah, I guess." I tell him, rubbing the back of my head. He just chuckles.

I start taking in the other costumes as Watari walks away. Linda appears to be a fairy princess, which makes me laugh. Jay is a prisoner in black and white stripes, and I note how fitting that is. I see witches, wizards, punpkins, even a monkey. Over by the cake, standing against the wall in the shadow is a taller boy, maybe seventeen, dressed like a ninja. All I could see of him were his eyes, which were dark and vaguly asian, with dark circles under them. His posture was horrible. Then again I'm not really one to talk.

"Hey Mells?" I ask, slapping at the blondes arm.

"Huh?" He says turning, already eating chocolate out of the closest candy dish.

"Who's the guy dressed like a ninja?" I ask, nodding toward said boy.

"How the hell should I know? You've been here longer then me."

"It's Ryuzaki." A small voice said from behind me.

Mello and I both turn towards the voice, seeing Near sitting against the wall methodically placing candy corn in lines.

"How the hell would you know?" Mello asks, hands on his hips. Near gives him an incredulous glare.

"Watari brings Ryuzaki with him when he visits sometimes. Ryuzaki hardly ever speaks, he just watches. Kinda like me."

I turn back to watch the older boy in the ninja costume and notice that Near is right. He is watching everyone, taking in every little movement.

"I'm gonna go get some pizza." I announce suddenly.

"You just want to go check that guy out closer." Mello smirks.

"No. I want pizza...It's just an added bonus that he's standing right next to it." I grin back. Mello shakes his head at me.

I get about three steps before Mello grabs my elbow, "I want some pizza too."

"You don't like pizza."

"Sure I do."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying! I so do like pizza...just not very often."

"Whatever, let's go. But you better eat the whole piece." I tease. Mello make's a pained look at this, but I know he will, just to spite me.

* * *

Mello's POV:

I took the smallest slice of pizza possible from the box, while Matt took three huge ones. It's not that I don't like pizza, it's just that it's so _greassy_. My fingers get all gross. I hate it when my hands are dirty.

The two of us hovered around the table, stealing discrete glances at the older boy next to the wall. He clearly noticed us, but said nothing, so we said nothing. He was...intresting. I couldn't place what nationality he was, but then again most of his face was covered by the ninja mask. That little twit said his name was Ryuzaki, which made me think Japanese, but no one went by their real names here, so he could of just liked the sound of it.

I turned as I hear him mutter, "Taking to long to cut the cake." and watch him lower his mask, moving and taking a strawberry with just the tips of his fingers from the cake, scooping frosting and chocolate up, and popped the whole thing in his mouth. I giggle (yes, I giggle) despite myself.

The boy turns towards me, smiling. He's pasty white, like he never saw the sun. I also notice that he looks like he hasn't slept in a month. "You should try it Mello, it's delicious." He says, going for another strawberry.

My eye's go wide when he say's my name, "You know who I am?"

He nods, inserting the fruit into his mouth, "Yes, I know all of your names." He says around the food, making his words mummbled.

"How?" I ask suspeciously. I don't trust anyone who knows me without me knowing them.

"I pay attention. You really should try this." He said, holding a frosting covered strawberry out to me. I narrow my eyes at the offered fruit, but take it anyways.

"It's good, isn't it?" he asks as I take a bite. I nod in responce, mouth full of food.

"Ryuzaki! What are you doing?" Watari chided in an amused tone.

"I'm eating cream cheese frosting covered strawberries." He answers seriously. "I am also sharing them with young Mello here. I would share them with Matt as well, but he is pretending to ignore us."

I see Matt blush bright red, even under his zombie makeup, eyes going wide at being called out. I begin to laugh so hard that I nearly double over.

* * *

Matt's POV:

Not long after being completely embarassed by my lack of spying skills (I really need to work on those), the real party started. Of course it wasn't long before Mello got into a fight with someone, namely, Linda. Of course, it was Linda's fault. That girl can be really dense sometimes. I mean, Mello was already pissed at her for telling Roger we had Mew, so coming up to him and confronting him to his face about the cat, yeah not the best of ideas...

"I know you have a cat Mello. It's not fair! Why do you and Matt get special treatment?" Linda whined, grabbing Mello's shoulder.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about! We don't have a damn cat, and you need to mind your own buisness!" Mello shouted, turning to face the girl. I could see his arms trembling with the urge to hit the brat.

"You do to have a cat! Jay told me he saw it!" She shouted back.

"Linda, we don't have a cat. Why don't you go hang out with your friends now? Mello's gonna snap." I whisper to her, hoping to stop a fist fight. And I wasn't _really_ lying, we had a _kitten_ not a _cat_.

"NO! I won't leave until you admit it!" She shouted at me, grabbing me by the shirt, which in turn, caused Mello to snap.

"Don't touch him you stupid bitch!" Mello shouted, grabbing Linda's shoulder, pulling her away from me and shoving her into the nearest wall. He cocked his fist back, ready to hit the girl while Linda curled her leg up to kick...and suddenly Ryuzaki was between the two, holding them apart. Both froze, staring up at the older teenager.

"Stop." He said calmly. Both Mello and Linda stared at the older boy, wide eyed. I did too. I'm not gonna lie. "Linda, enough. They do not have a cat. Even if they did have a cat it would be none of your buisness. If they were crafty enough to sneak a feline into this building without the knowledge of Roger, then they diserve to keep it. Mello, come with me. Matt, you may follow as well." Ryuzaki said, ninja mask in place, grabbing hold of Mello's arm and dragging the blonde into the hall. I followed at their heels, what else was I supposed to do?

We entered the dark hall, and all I noticed was how much quieter it was out here. Ryuzaki shoved an annoyed looking Mello against the wall, pinning him by his shoulder. "Mello, please do not fight unless necessary. I understand Linda pushes your buttons, and the urge to attack her is strong, but please restrain yourself."

"Easy for you to say." Mello mumbled.

"Yes, it is." The other replied. I couldn't help but making an amused face at this. Was he making a joke? "Near, would you please come here?"

I jumped slightly as the small kid stood up from inside a doorway. How the hell didn't I notice him?

"Near, would you please keep Matt's kitten in your room for a few days until this all blows over?"

"Okay." Near answered simply, leaning against the wall.

"Whoa, wait? You knew I had Mew?" I exclaime.

"Of course I knew. I know everything that goes on around here. I thought I told you that." The boy said smugly. In that instant, I decided I wanted to be just like him when I got older. He might be strange as hell, but this guy was awesome.

* * *

**Okay spell check wasn't working and I know this chapter was lame, I'm so sorry :/ My brain just hasn't been in writing mode lately, I promise the next chapter will be better...good news is I can work on Road Trip now =)**


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